The Great Depression of the 1930s was the greatest economic calamity in American history. It was as hard on children and teens as it was on adults. Their fathers had lost their jobs, they'd been evicted from their homes, even their schools had gone bankrupt and closed their doors. How could this have happened in the richest country on earth? Had capitalism failed in America? Or could it have been a case of Unintended Consequences? Could the Depression have been avoided?

Even today, most people blame the Great Depression on the stock market crash. Some blame it on corruption and income inequality, or on the capitalist system itself. While many things contributed to the Great Depression, there is one important factor that economists know about but most people don't. It has more to do with money than stocks, and the action--or more importantly the inaction--of the Federal Reserve.

In Unintended Consequences: The Great Depression, host Carra Cheslin visits New York and Washington, DC, and conducts an interview with Federal Reserve Governor Randy Kroszner who explains in clear cut terms how missteps at the Federal Reserve in the 1930s put the "Great" in "Great Depression."

The Great Depression 2.0 covers numerous educational standards across several subject areas including ELL, Media/Technology, Language Arts, and Social Studies for Grades 7-12. To find which standards it covers specific to your grade, subject area, and which standards your district follows, use our Standards Alignment tool.